“Wanna make that a combo?” If you hear those words on a daily basis or even multiple times per day, you need to make a change. As nutritionists we ask you to cook because we know that cooking can give you nutrition that is superior to what you can get at a drive-thru.One of the big reasons you spin through the fast food chains is time. We want to give specific strategies at 2 Your Health that fit in your lifestyle. In reality that means you have to prepare meals when you get home, which is often a 45-minute turn-around time. The family has to eat and then head back out the door for soccer practice or the gym. Or you have that 45-minutes when you pick them up from practice at 8 o’clock. You need to put something nourishing on the table that the family will eat, of course, so it has to taste good and be acceptable to everybody in the family. One of the specific things you can do is use frozen vegetables as a meal base. Frozen Vegetables As A Base People will often say “I’m not sure my kids will eat vegetables” or “I don’t eat vegetables.” So let’s talk about that. One of the things I encourage people to do is stand in front of the frozen vegetable section of their grocery store and look at all the things that are offered. If you do that I’m betting that you will find some things that you and your kids will eat. Working from that base, we can come up with meals that are easy and quick. Asian Stir Fry Asian buffets are one of the fastest growing trends in the restaurant business. Families are pretty accustomed to the Asian flavor profile. Standing at any major grocery store frozen food section, you will find some sort of stir fry blend. As a bonus, because of the popularity of Asian cuisine, you will find it in the grocery’s brand, which means a lower cost! For a family of four, pick up (2) 16-ounce bags of stir fry blend (keep this in your freezer at home consistently). With those two bags, you’re going to add boneless skinless chicken breast. So you can go home and in a matter of a mere 10 minutes you can have...

Have you ever heard that “Fresh Is Best” when it comes to fruits and vegetables? It’s true! But one of the reasons may surprise you. You probably know that fresh vegetables DO NOT contain the unnecessary salt, fat, sugar and preservatives that most canned and pre-prepared items do. And the fresher the produce, the greater the nutrient value. So “Fresh Is Best” in terms of health benefits. But you may not have considered that “Fresh Is Best” when it comes to taste! That’s right, eating fresh fruits and veggies is actually more enjoyable. And that’s one of our first concerns here at 2 Your Health. We want you to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. Fresh Means Flavor! Buying vegetables and fruits outside of their normal growing season means that the flavor is not as rich. So, when people tell me that they don’t like fruits and vegetables, one of my responses is to ask people to focus on eating in-season foods. So, how do you know what items are in-season? Buy Local Summer is approaching and with it arrives the season for local, fresh produce. It doesn’t get any fresher, or tastier, than the local farmer’s market. It’s a no-brainer. If it comes from the local farmer’s market, it’s right off the vine and super-fresh. The shopping experience itself can be enjoyable and you know without a doubt that you are buying good stuff that is at the peak of freshness and flavor. In-Season At The Grocery Store Many fruits and vegetables are available in your grocer’s produce section year-round, but some of them may have been harvested many months ago and are not as fresh and flavorful as they would be in-season. Apples, for example, are predominantly grown in the Northwest and Michigan and are harvested in the Fall, then stored in a controlled environment most of the year. The USDA has approved this procedure and the chemical used (carbon dioxide), so you’re in no danger with apples out-of-season. But you may realize that as we approach summer, apples by variety and quality are less available, less flavorful, and often “mealy” in consistency (softer and dryer). Even though strawberries are now available to some degree year round, they are at their peak in the late Winter coming from Florida and then again in late Spring from Texas and California (along with local sources) and have far...

“Wanna make that a combo?” If you hear those words on a daily basis or even multiple times per day, you need to make a change. As nutritionists we ask you to cook because we know that cooking can give you nutrition that is superior to what you can get at a drive-thru.One of the big reasons you spin through the fast food chains is time. We want to give specific strategies at 2 Your Health that fit in your lifestyle. In...

Have you ever heard that “Fresh Is Best” when it comes to fruits and vegetables? It’s true! But one of the reasons may surprise you. You probably know that fresh vegetables DO NOT contain the unnecessary salt, fat, sugar and preservatives that most canned and pre-prepared items do. And the fresher the produce, the greater the nutrient value. So “Fresh Is Best” in terms of health benefits. But you may...

Need some grocery shopping tips? This post will give you some easy guidelines to go by. Take a mental stroll in the front door of your grocery store. Think about the location of categories of items. Take a right, go along the side, and follow the side aisle until you reach the back. What do you see in that corner? Now walk along the back wall. What do you see? Go all the way around the sides of your grocery store and...